1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a discharge mechanism for discharging a container having a lid for opening and closing an opening through which a sheet-like member is inserted, from a containing loading unit of a sheet-like member processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a system for recording radiation image information of a subject such as a human body with a stimulable phosphor, and reproducing the recorded radiation image information on a photosensitive medium such as a photographic film, or displaying the recorded radiation image information on a display unit such as a CRT or the like.
The stimulable phosphor is a phosphor which, when exposed to an applied radiation (X-rays, xcex1-rays, xcex3-rays, electron beams, ultraviolet radiation, or the like), stores a part of the energy of the radiation, and, when subsequently exposed to applied stimulating rays such as visible light, emits light in proportion to the stored energy of the radiation. Usually, a sheet provided with a layer of the stimulable phosphor is used as a stimulable phosphor sheet for easy handling.
The above known system employs a cassette-loading radiation image reading apparatus having a cassette loading unit for loading a cassette (container) which houses a stimulable phosphor sheet with radiation image information recorded thereon, an image reading unit for reading the radiation image information carried by the stimulable phosphor sheet which has been removed from the cassette, and an erasing unit for erasing residual radiation image information on the stimulable phosphor sheet.
In the cassette loading unit, when the stimulable phosphor sheet from which the desired radiation image information has been read and the residual radiation image information has been erased is returned into the cassette, the operator manually removes the cassette from the cassette loading unit. As the stimulable phosphor sheet is removed from the cassette loading unit, the lid of the cassette is closed by a lid closing mechanism which is operated upon removal of the cassette from the cassette loading unit.
However, since the removal of the cassette from the cassette loading unit is manually performed by the operator, if the cassette is forcibly pulled out quickly, the stimulable phosphor sheet may possibly be ejected partly or wholly from the cassette before the lid is closed. The stimulable phosphor sheet thus forced out may be damaged and introduced into the cassette-loading radiation image reading apparatus.
It is a major object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for discharging a sheet-like member container while reliably preventing a sheet-like member from being undesirably ejected the container regardless of an action to load or unload the sheet-like member container.
For a discharge mechanism to discharge a container from a container loading unit of a sheet-like member processing apparatus, rotational power from a rotary actuator is transmitted via clutch means to a lid closing roller. The lid closing roller is rotated to automatically deliver the container from the container loading unit to a predetermined position, and close a lid of the container which has opened an opening in the container. Then, the operator manually unloads the container from the container loading unit.
Since the container is delivered to the position where the sheet-like member does not jump out of the container upon rotation of the lid closing roller, the sheet-like member is reliably prevented from jumping out of the container even if the operator forcibly pulls the container quickly from the container loading unit. Therefore, when the operator pulls the container, the sheet-like member is prevented from jumping out of the container and hence being damaged, and is also effectively prevented from entering the sheet-like member processing apparatus.
The lid closing roller and the rotary actuator can be disconnected from each other by the clutch means. Consequently, when the operator manually unloads the container from the container loading unit or manually loads the container into the container loading unit, the rotation of the lid closing roller is not transmitted to the rotary actuator, and hence no excessive load is imposed on the operator.